qó:

water

Qó: is the Halq’eméylem word for ‘water’. You can use it to talk about a glass of water, or the water in a river, ocean, etc.. …

Pronunciation

• Qó: sounds like CAW, except that instead of a c or a k you say the Halq’eméylem q sound.
• To make the Halq’eméylem q, you touch your tongue further back in your mouth, at your uvula.

Audio: Elizabeth Herrling, Elizabeth Phillips

Examples

Here are some examples of how you can use qó: :

• Li a stl’i kw’e qó:? – Do you want some water?
• Li éy te qó:? – Is the water good?
• A’a!  Éy te qó:! – Yes! The water is good!

Related words

Here are some words related to qó: :

• qóqe – to drink
• sqó:s – a tear on your face  (lit. ‘water on the face’, the –ós ending means ‘on/of the face‘)
• temqoqó: or temqó: – June (lit. water time, since June is a time for high water)
• Qoqoláxel – ‘Watery Eaves‘, the name of a famous longhouse once near Chilliwack (the –láxel endings means ‘of a house, of a building‘)